Bottle-labeling machine



Oci- 26 1926.

" J. LAVGNE BOTTLE LABELING MAGHINE 3 sheets-sheet 1 F1e d June 22, 1925 oct. 2e, 1926.

v 1,604,700 i J. A. LAVIGNE BOTTLE LABELING MACHINE Filed June 22, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. y 26 1926.

J. A. LAVIGNE BOTTLE LABELING MACHINE il un Filed June 22, 1925 motions" respectively, contro-lling' the maga'- lmatented ct. Z6, 1926.

JOSEPH A. LAVIGNE, OF WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS.

BOTTLE-LABELING MACHINE.

Application filed .Tune 22, 1925i. Serial No. 38,770.

My invention relates to bottle labeling machines and has for its object to provide, in a machine of the class described, an improved Wiper motion, whereby the labels are more elfectively applied to bottles. Another object of my invention is to so lll"com 7 bine and coordinate the magazine and stripper motions of the machine that they may both be operated from a single actuating member.

The above and further advantageous features of my machine will hereinafter more fully appear as the description proceeds. ln the drawings,

Fig. 1 is an elevation from the left hand side of the machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is an elevation from the right hand side of the machine shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the machine shown in Fig. 1.

Figs. 4 and 5 are fragmentary views showing the elements of the Wiper mechanism in different positions. Y

Fig. 6 .is a detail view of a Wiper mechanism.

F ig. 7 is a section on. the line 7-7 of Fig. 3.

'Jike reference characters refer to like parts in the different figures.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, the machine generally comprises a base 1 upon Which is mounted an overhanging standard 2. A small standard 3 is also mounted' on the base 1 and With the standard 2 constitutes a support for the moving parts of the machine.

A main drive shaft 4 passes through the standards 2 and 3 Which provide suitable bearings for it, indicated by the reference numerals and 6, the shaft `4 being driven in any suitable manner, as by a pulley 7. rl`he other essential elements of the machine are a magazine 8 for the labels, picker arms 9 adapted to take labels from the magazine, and a stationary bottle rest 10 to support the bottle or article 11 to be labeled. As clearly sho-Wn in Figs. l and 2, the magazine `8 is offset from the rest l0 and the picker arms 9 are adapted to move a label from the magazine 8fto a position directly over the bottle orarticle 11, whereupon the label is applied by the stripper 53 and Wipers 87, see Fig. 3.

ln'labeling machines of the type to which my inventionl relates there are four Y main portion of the' zine, the picker, the stripper and the Wiper,

and as my inventionresides in the correlation of these motions, one to another, the motions Will novv be particularly described in detail, starting With the picker motion.

The' pickers 9 are actuated from the main shaft 4, Which for this purpose, carries an end cam l2 With a roller 13 on an arm 14 in engagement With the surface of cam 12. The arm 14 is attached to a slide 15V reciprocable in guideways 16, and pivotally attached tothe slide 15 is a short link 18 connected to a lever 19, which carries the picker arms 9. A spring 17 `which 'connects the lower portion of lever 19 to bracket '21 acts to pull the slide 15 to the left,Fig. 1, to keep the roller 18 on. the cam 12, and it Will be apparent that as the shaft 4y revolves, the picker arms 9 Will be oscillated about the pivot 20. Y The adhesive applyingroll vmotion is operated from a track cam 22 carried by the main drive shaft 4, a roller 23 fitting in the track of the cani 22, being carried by a yoke 24'Which st'raddles the shaft 4 and is constrained to receivev a vertical .motion from the cam 22.y At the same time the yoke 24 is held from rotation about the axis of shaft 4 by a link yoke 26, the upper part of Which is received between t-he ends Ofa pair of bell-crank levers 27, 27. Thus as the shaft 4 revolves, the roller 23, travelling in the track of the cam 22, imparts a posi tive vertical rectilinearV motion to the yoke 24, which motion is transmitted to the bellorank levers 27, 27, thereby oscilla-ting them about the pivot Vshaft 28. At the vupper ends of the bell-crank levers 27, 'are pivotally attached a pair of link rods 33, which serve to reciprocate a pair `o-f slide rods 34, received in brackets 35, attached to the standard 2. lThe connection between the link rods 33, 33, and the slide rods 84, 34, comprises collars 36 adjustable on the rods 34 by means of set screws 37, each collar 36 providing ar pivot pin 38 for one of the ro-ds'. The slide rods 34, 34, have enlarged end portions, or caps 39, 39, ywhich constitute bearing brackets for a shaft 40"received therebetvveen', Which'shaft 40'carries` an adhesive roll '41, byV means of Which adhesive isv placed on theVV picker varms 9 at'each'cycle of operati'on'of the machine. In order to supply the roll 41 With ad* hesive, there is provided a reservoir 42 which maybe of any desired construction,

5173 .zwi

and within which is rotatably mountedan adhesive supply roll 43. For the purpose of driving the roll 43 a helical gear 44 is keyed to the shaft 4 in mesh with a helical gear 30 carried by the pivot shaft 28 which is thus rotated independently of the levers 27. A sprocket gear 32 at the other end of shaft 28, by means of a sprocket chain 45, drives a sprocket- 46 keyed to a short shaft 47 which also carries a spur gear in mesh with a large spur gear 49 outside the reservoir 42, for driving the supply roll 43 through a shaft 50. A small spur gear 51 is keyed to the shaft 40 so that when the adhesive roll 4l is in the position shown in Fig. 2, the gears 49 and 5l are in mesh, lwhereas when the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1, they are out of mesh. Thus the adhesive supply roll 43 is rotated continuously by the gearing `just described, While the adhesive applying roll 4l is only driven when in the position shown in Fig. 2 that is, when in contact with the adhesive supply roll 43.

Considering now the magazine 8 and stripper 53, my invention contemplates the use of a cam 52 affixed to the main shaft 4 for controlling the movement of both these elements, as will now be described. A. roller 54 rides on the peripheral Vsurface of cam 52, this roller being carried by the forked end of a vertical rod 55. The lower portion of this rod 55 is square in cross section and is received in a guideway 56 which is desirably formed in a projection cast onto the standard 2; thus the rod 55 is held to vertical reciprocatory motion and is at the same time prevented from turning. The upper part of rod 55 .is round in cross section and the break between the round and square portions provides a shoulder 57, against which a spring 58 bears. A bracket 59 attached to the standard 2 receives the round part of rod 55 and'serves to limit the position ofthe upper end of the spring 58 which thus presses the rod downwardly. A master lever 60 is pivotally mountedon the standard 2 by means of a stud 6l and the Vleft hand end of this master lever 60, Figl, is attached to the rod 55 by a pin and slot connection 62. This masterV lever 60 controls both the magazine and the stripper motions.

The stripper 53 in my improved machine is vertically reciprocable, and for this purpose it is carried by the lower end of a square plunger 63 received in a square guideway 64 which is desirably formed in an end projection 65 cast integral with the standard 2, as shown. The upper end of the plunger 63 has a horizontal hole through which extends l a stud 66, with a boss 66a atlits outer or left hand end, see Fig. 3. This stud 66 is adapted to turn in the yplunger 63 and the boss 66ct is drilled to receive an operating rod 67; At the upper end of rod 67 is a collar 68 preferably attached by means of a set screw, and a spring 69 surrounds the rod 67 between the collar 68 and the boss 66a.

lA second collar 7() is placed below the boss bottle it may adjust itself to lie fiat on the surfyce of the bottle, in case the bottle is not. exactly level. A spring 73 is preferably interposed between the stripper 53 and member 72,50 that this adjustment will always be in one direction.

rlhe magazine 8 shown in the accmnpanying drawings, does not differ materially from magazines already known in this art, and for the purpose of understanding the present invention, it is sutcient to state that the magazine shown in Figs. l and 2 is adjustable in every required manner; that is to say, the magazine prongs 74 may be lowered or raised with respect to a body port-ion 75 and the prongs 74 may be spread apart or brought together in two dimensions to ac commodate different shapes of labels. rl`he body portion 75 of magazine 8 is attached to a slide 76 carried by inclined guideways 77 in a bracket 78 attached to the standard 2. and as clearly shownin Fig. l, a pivoted link 79 connects slide 76 to a .bell-crank lever 80 pivoted on the master lever stud 61. The master leverGO carries a segment 81 which provides pins 82 and 83 at its upper and lower extremities respectively, and during the normal operation of the machine the right hand end of lever 8O rests against the upper pin 82 by reason of the fact that vthe weight of magazine 8 and slide 76 is always trying to turn the lever 8G in a counter clockwise direction, as in- Fig. l. Consequently when the master lever 60 turns in a clockwise direction, it carries the lever 8f) in the saine direction, both levers being pivoted on the saine stud 6l, and the magazine 8 is lifted; but when the master lever 60 turns back again the magazine 8 is allowed to move downwardly through the action of gravity. Fig. l shows the magazine in its uppermostr position and Fig. 2 shows it in an intermediate position, just after a label has been deposited on the pickers 9, the lowermost position being indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 2. c .f Lever 80 has a handle 84 at its right hand end, Fig. l, while segment 81 has a hole 85 `drilled therein at or near its middle portion; consequently when the operator wishes to tryout the machine without actually placing any Alabels on bottles, in order, for

example, to see that all the motions are properly adjusted, he has only to pull the handle 84 downwardly untilthe lever 80 is below the hole 85 and then insert a pin in the hole 85.. In this manner' the magazine 8, although it will still move in-proper rela` tion to the stripper 53 as the machine turns over, will never move to its lowermost, or label depositing position.

Having described the picker, magazine and stripper motions, the Wiper motion will now be described with reference to Figs. 3 to 7 inclusive. The entire motion of the wipers 87 is derived from a crank 88 attached to the front end of the shaft 4, which crank 88 is attached to a crosshead 92 by a link 89 and pins 90 and 91. As best shown in Fig. 7, the crosshead 92 is held to a vertical rectilinear path by guides 94 bolted to a pair of extensions 95, 95, of small standard 3, the crOsshead 92 being provided with grooves 93 for the guides.

i The top of crosshead 92 provides lugs 96, 96, on each side, to which are pivotally attached wiper arms 97, 97, by means of pins 98, 98. Each wiper arm 97 carries a roller 99, and a casting 100 supported on the small standard 3 provides a pair of tracks 101, 101, for receiving the rollers 99, 99. Each track 101 has an inside and an outside portion 101a and 101b respectively, andy the rollers 99 traverse the inside portions 101 as they descend, and the outside portions 101b as they ascend. The position of the rollers 99 determines the angular relation of wiper arms 97 to the crosshead 92 and to each other, and it is obvious that when the rollers 99 are in the inside track portions 1013, the wipers 87, 87, will be closer together than when rollers 99 are in the outside track portions 101".

As clearly shown in Fig. 4, the pivot pins 98, 98, are closer together than the rollers 99, 99, even when the latter are in the inside track portions 1019, and from the general shape of the wiper arms 97, 97, it will be seen that their centers o1' gravity must lie outside the pins 98, so that when the rollers 99, 99, reach the bottom of the inside track portions 101` the wiper arms 97, 97, being unconstrained, will iiop outwardly to place the rollers 99, 99, in the outside track por-4 tions 101", in which theyascend.

In order to shift the rollers 99 over to the inside track portions 101a at the limit of their upward movement, a pair of disks 102 are rotatably mounted on shafts 103 located in recesses 104 coeXtensive with the tracks, each disk having a plurality of similar cut out portions 105. Gn the other side of casting 100 ratchets 10G are keyed or pinned to the shafts- 103, and spring pressed pawls 107 press against these ratchets to permit them to turn in a single direction only, see Fig. 6. In Fig. 5 the ascending rollers 99 are shown about to engage in cut out portions 105 of the disks 102 which are free to turn in opposite directions. As the disks 102 turn, the rollers 99 fully enter the cut out portions 1,05 which receivel them snugly as shown in Fig. 3. This ligure shows the crank 88 in the vertical position, consequently the crosshead 92 is in its uppermost position, and further movement of the shait 4 will draw the wiper arms 97 downwardly. In this position oir parts, a ratchet tooth on each of the ratchets 106 has ljust gone beyond the edge of pawls 107, thus lockingV the ratchets as shown in. Fig. 6; consequently the disks 102 cannot turn backwards. Y

The rollers 99 therefore are constrained to ride od' the flat part of the cut out portions 105 as the crossheadi 92 moves down, and thus they enter the inside track portions 101a at start of the downward movement of J the wiper arms 97.

Starting with the parts of the machine in the position shown in Fig. 2 (full lines) there will now be described a complete cycle or" operation. A gummed label 108 is already on the picker arms `9 and the latter are in substantially their,` lowermost position. The stripper 53 is descending and is about to pass between the picker arms 9, and as it does so, it will place the label 108v on the bottle 11 and hold it there. arms 9 then move rapidly upward to the position ot F ig, 1 and the wipers 87 move downwardly, as. shown in F ig. 4, while the stripper 53 holds the label in. place. rll`he adhesive roll 41 then moves :rapidly outward with the y pickers 9 stationar r, thus depositing a new coating of adhesive on them. As the roll 41 reaches its outwardmost position, the parts are in the position shown in Fig. 1 and the wipers 87 have practically completed their 'downward stroke. l/Vhen the roll 41 returns to contact with supply roll 43, the stripper 53 rises rapidly from its lower-most position to its highest position, see the dotted line position of stripper in Fig. 2. l

As the stripper 53 moves to its .highest position, the magazine8, by the operation of the master lever 60, moves toits lowermost position, the prongs- 74 being shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, in connection with the picker arms 9 also in dotted lines. The arms `9 remain `stationary while the magazine 8 iS lowered and the prongs 74 pass through convenient holes in the pickers. The lowermost label adheres to the picker arms 9 and fleXes away from the prongs 74, leaving the rest of t-helabels undisturbed as the picker arms 9 descend with the label, and the magazine rises.

In Fig. l there is shown a foot pedal 109 at the end of a lever 110 which operates a clutch mechanism 111 through a link 112 and. short lever 113. The clutch mechanism The picker lll need not be described, since it forms no part ot' my invention, and might be ot' any type desired. By this mechanism, the machine is adapted to come to a stop just at, or prior to, the position of parts shown in Fig. Q, and the operator may start the machine by stepping on the pedal 109. It'vvill be noted that the gummed label is ready for deposit, and as soon as the Wipers` 87 have finished their stroke and the stripper 53 has started up, the operator may remove the labeled bottle and replace it with an unlabeled one. Thecycle of operations just described is then repeated.

From the foregoing it Will thus be seen that I have provided an improved bottle labeling machine in which the stripper and magazine motions are always in proper relation owing to the use of a master lever for actuating both motions. My improved arrangement `also permits the magazine to be rendered 'inoperative temporarily for testing out the machine, Without wasting labels.

rIhe Wiper motion of my machine is eX- tremely eii'ective for the reason that the Wipers 87 travel in a different path when ascending and descendinor and there'is no danger of knocking a bottle off the bottle rest by the ascending Wipers 87. The eX- act path of the Wipers 87 being determined byV a track cam, there Will be no variation in their movement, and the mechanism that moves the rollers 99 Which control the Wiper arms 97 is extremely effective in shifting the rollers to .the inside track for the downward movement of the Wipers.

From the foregoing it is apparent that by my invention I have provided an improved bottle labeling machine Which is extremely enlective in operation, by reason ot' the coordination of the various motions of the machine. IVhile I have shown my machine as employing a particular arrangement of parts for carrying out the various motions, obviously various minor changes and modiiications can be carried out Without departing from my invention.

I claim:

1. In a machine of the class described, the combination With a vertically reciprocating stripper and a movable ylabel magazine adapted to deliver a label when moved to one extreme position, said magazine being oilset with respect to the line of movement of said stripper, of means for operating 'said stripper and magazine from a single actuating member.

2. In a machine of the class described, the combination With a vertically reciprocating stripper, a reciprocatory label magazine having a non-parallel movement with respect to said stripper` and a rotating shaft, of means for operating both said stripper and said magazine from asingle actuating meniber connected vto said shaft'.

3. In a machine of the class described, the combination with pickers having an arcuate motion, a vertically reciprocating stripper and a label magazine inclined between the vertical and the horizontal and adapted to move rectilinearly to deposit a label on the said pickers, of a pivotally mounted lever for operating both said stripper and said magazine in timed relation with said pickers.

1. In a machine of the class described, the combination vvith pickers having an arcuate motion, a vertically reciprocating stripper and a label magazine inclined between the vertical and the horizontal and adapted to move rectilinearly to deposit a label on the said pickers, ot' a pivotally mounted lever 'for operating both said stripper and said magazine in timed relation with said pickers, and means `tor rendering said magazine inoperative to deposit labels on said pickers Without disconnecting it from said lever.

5. In a machine of the class described, a vertically reciprocating member, a Wiper arm pivotally attached to said member, a projection on said arm, an endless track adapted to reecive said projection to control the angular position of said arm relative to said reciprocating member, and a disk With eut out portions to cause said projection to move first in one position of said track andthen in the other.

6. In a Wiper mechanism for bottle labeling machines, a pivotally mounted Wiper arm, means for imparting a reciprocatory movement to said arm, an endless track for causing said arm to travel in different paths as it reciprocates, and meansifor shitting said arm from one portion of the track to another at the end of its upward movement, the said arm being adapted to shift back by gravity at the end of its downward movement.

JOSEPH A'. LAVIGNE.

lill) 

